Cell phone picture helps nab burglar

Jason Draper

A Turlock man is facing burglary charges after a resident snapped his picture coming out of one of the homes he is accused of breaking into.

Jason Draper, 33, was arrested Wednesday night by Turlock Police officers on charges of possession of methamphetamine, evading, and two counts of burglary.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday a family arrived at their home in the 600 block of Sunday Drive to find a car idling in their driveway and their front door kicked in, said Turlock Police spokesperson Officer Mayra Lewis.

A family member called the police department to report the burglary and while on the phone sees the suspect coming out the front door with some of their property.

Another family member pulled out a cell phone and took a picture of the suspect and the vehicle’s license plate number.

The suspect fled the scene before police arrived, but with the license plate number the officers traced the car back to Draper. His driver’s license photo also matched that of the individual photographed coming out of the home.

An officer spotted Draper’s car while on patrol in the area of Geer Road and Canal Drive late Wednesday night.

The officer attempted to stop Draper, but he sped off. Draper led officers on a short pursuit before stopping the car and trying to escape on foot. His attempt didn’t take him far before he was taken into custody.

Draper was found with property linked to a burglary of a home in the 2000 block of Colorado Avenue that occurred around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In that burglary the homeowner reported someone came into the house through the back door while she was at home. She ran out the front door to get help and noticed a vehicle in her driveway. The suspect fled before police arrived.

The vehicle the woman saw in her driveway was the same one Draper was driving a few hours later, according to the police department.